Help

Dan is it ok to eat food with some sauce like Chilli Sauce , Ketchup , Mustard?  Most of the time i cook my meat plain but the taste is getting abit blend so i was wondering if i could add some seasoning to the cooking?

Many sauces are mostly sugar...get a spice cookbook and learn to use herbs and spices to create flavor!
 
In the meantime, sparingly...it is not the best, but...if you must!

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I'm gonna write out a meal plan again around next week to see if its ok. I've been testing for the past 2 weeks now and i hope it makes a good plan.

Back to the question on weight to choose. For the 3rd week when i increase my sets, do i still do the same weight that i did for the 1st week? Because now i'm doing more reps and sets means it gets tougher. So is that the point?

No.  You shoud follow the rule:
Choose a weight that forces you to near-failure for the last rep of the last set. Choose a weight that forces you to near-failure for the last rep of the last set.
 
That means sometimes you will work with heavier weight and sometimes lighter.
 

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Lets say i choose to workout 1 hour after a meal. I drink my whey protein half hour later and again after my workout. However does this mean that my meal 1 hour before and 1 hour after my workout has got to be less in protein? or none? because when i calculate out my eating plan i tend to overshoot the amount of protein i should take hence carb % is messed up.

My calorie intake should be around 2300-2400 having minused off 500 calories for cutting. I find myself eating more protein then i should. However i don't really know how to cut down on the protein. On days i don't train i find i eat the right amount of protein. But on days i train i tend to over eat on protein.

My calorie intake should be around 2300-2400 having minused off 500 calories for cutting.

DO NOT eat 500 calories LESS for cutting!!!
 
Start with the higher end of your maintenance calories!!!
Get the diet dialed in with thart first...start by GAINING MUSCLE WEIGHT first!
 
Then when that starts to plateau..take advantage of it by CREATING THE deficit with training!

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OK ... I'm looking at 2600-2800 calories a day.  That's what I currently consume and that's what I'll continue to consume until a plataue is reached.

I don't know the specifics on some of these, but I tried my best ... it's a better start.  I'd like to get this all together before I go food shopping this weekend

Meal 1
4 egg whites with 1 yoke (FYI ... I typically buy large grade A eggs and I'm not sure of their nutritional values when then yoke is removed)
1 cup oatmeal (I hate oatmeal, so I'll probably slurp it down with water ... any type of Oatmeal you'd recommend)
Baby Carrots

Meal 2
Cottage Cheese (could this be my lean protein?)
1 slice 100% whole wheat bread
Baby Carrots

Meal 3
I typically eat a sandwich ... so this is hard for me
Turkey Salad (knocks out the lean protein AND fibrous carb)
Corn

Meal 4
I'm stumped ... I'm a picky eater and I like quick and short meals
Perhaps a rice mix ... brown rice, peas, and chicken with soy sauce?

Meal 5
Chicken Breast
Corn
Celery w/ peanut butter?

Meal 6
This is typically later at night ... again looking for quick and easy
I wanna say apple, but from your guide it's probably not ideal ...
Ugh....
Carrots and cottage cheese
Is this ok?  Like I said, this is around 8 or later so I just like a small snack


OK ... thanks for your help thus far Dan.  You can be rough, I don't mind someone yelling at me to get me motivated haha!  I have all the foods out above ... now I need to work on the portions.  Can you let me know what you think?  Once you say it's good, I'll work on the amounts.

Fish Oil?  Egh, this is new to me.  Where would I fit this in my meal?  Is it taken str8 up like a shot haha?

Other than the fish oil ... I'm on the right track I feel.

Thanks again.

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What's the best way to calculate calorie intake? i use one of the calculators on Bodybuilding.com. It tells me i burn roughly 2822 calories per day.

What's the best way to calculate calorie intake?

Calorie intake is all the calories you eat..use Fitday.com ..sign up for th free meal journal and enter everything you eat.
 
Caloric expenditure formula are based on some obscure references...they can give you a general idea of where to start but ARE NOT PERFECT!
http://www.discussbodybuilding.com/How_Many_Calories_Do_You_Need%3a_Calorie_Calculators_-_Includes_Quick_Spreadsheet_Too!/m_45013/tm.htm
 
Once you start dialing in a diet and training plan, then your actual calories out will change and YOU control the number.
 

Meal 1
4 egg whites with 1 yoke (FYI ... I typically buy large grade A eggs and I'm not sure of their nutritional values when then yoke is removed)
1 cup oatmeal (I hate oatmeal, so I'll probably slurp it down with water ... any type of Oatmeal you'd recommend)
Baby Carrots

Meal 2
Cottage Cheese (could this be my lean protein?) It is not ideal if the goal is fat loss..any milk product Will not be ideal.  Try thin sliced beef instead.
1 slice 100% whole wheat bread  if the goal is fat loss then bread is not ideal
Baby Carrots I recommend getting as much variety in your vegetables as you can

Meal 3
I typically eat a sandwich ... so this is hard for me if the goal is fat loss then bread is not ideal
Turkey Salad (knocks out the lean protein AND fibrous carb)
Corn

Meal 4
I'm stumped ... I'm a picky eater and I like quick and short meals
Perhaps a rice mix ... brown rice, peas, and chicken with soy sauce? Well, peas are a carb not a vegetable...look at my foods list in the gaining mass or losing fat thread.  How about onions peppers and mushroom?


Meal 5
Chicken Breast
Corn What about baked sweet potato?
Celery w/ peanut butter?

Meal 6
This is typically later at night ... again looking for quick and easy
I wanna say apple, but from your guide it's probably not ideal ...
Ugh....
Carrots and cottage cheese if the goal is fat loss then milk products are not ideal
Is this OK?  Like I said, this is around 8 or later so I just like a small snack
Forget the word snack.  focus on the concept of complete meals.  How about fish, rice and a salad?

 
Use fitday.com and put EACH MEAL in a separate day..this way you can see how the portion sizes and ratios of fat, carbs, and protein work out!
 

Fish Oil?  Egh, this is new to me.  Where would I fit this in my meal?  Is it taken str8 up like a shot haha?

I use this:
Fish Oil
I use a teaspoon and just ..yea take it str8 up as a shooter.

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ORIGINAL: danmirage

Meal 1
4 egg whites with 1 yoke (FYI ... I typically buy large grade A eggs and I'm not sure of their nutritional values when then yoke is removed)
1 cup oatmeal (I hate oatmeal, so I'll probably slurp it down with water ... any type of Oatmeal you'd recommend)
Baby Carrots

Since you made no comments, I guess this meal is ok?

Meal 2
Cottage Cheese (could this be my lean protein?) It is not ideal if the goal is fat loss..any milk product Will not be ideal.  Try thin sliced beef instead.
1 slice 100% whole wheat bread  if the goal is fat loss then bread is not ideal
Baby Carrots I recommend getting as much variety in your vegetables as you can

Roast beef from a deli ... is this ok?  Or perhaps it's better to cook a lean cut of beef and slice it myself?
Instead of bread ... one cup of brown rice?
Celery instead of carrots

Meal 3
Turkey Salad (knocks out the lean protein AND fibrous carb)
Corn

Is this ok then?

Meal 4
Perhaps a rice mix ... brown rice, peas, and chicken with soy sauce? Well, peas are a carb not a vegetable...look at my foods list in the gaining mass or losing fat thread.  How about onions peppers and mushroom?

I see my problem now .. peas are a starchy carb.  I'll use broccoli instead. (I don't like onions or peppers or mushrooms haha ... I'm picky)

Meal 5
Chicken Breast
Corn What about baked sweet potato?
Celery w/ peanut butter?

I'll give it a try ... you suggest a whole sweet potato?

Meal 6
Carrots and cottage cheese if the goal is fat loss then milk products are not ideal
Is this OK?  Like I said, this is around 8 or later so I just like a small snack
Forget the word snack.  focus on the concept of complete meals.  How about fish, rice and a salad?

I know, it's tough to get in the habit of meals when I typically always had 3 meals and 2 snacks.  Fish, Rice, and salad sounds good, I'll try that.

Use fitday.com and put EACH MEAL in a separate day..this way you can see how the portion sizes and ratios of fat, carbs, and protein work out!

Fish Oil?  Egh, this is new to me.  Where would I fit this in my meal?  Is it taken str8 up like a shot haha?

I use this:
Fish Oil
I use a teaspoon and just ..yea take it str8 up as a shooter.

A teaspoon at the begining or end of each meal ... or does it not matter?  I guess this is for a "good fat".  I hope it tastes better then it sounds.

I'm getting close to getting this down ... thanks again for the help, I REALLY appreciate it.

One more question ... is there particular oatmeal I should purchase for my breakfast?

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Having calculated how much i should eat i took my BMR x 1.55(activity level i think its moderate, not sure though)

i get close to 3000 calories. So basically i shouldn't minus 500 off these calories per day? just eat 3000 worth and then use the workouts as the deficiets? 3000 is alot

If i Based my intake on 45% carb , 30% protein , 25% fat. Thats ~340g carb , 225g protein and 84g fat. So far i've been eating ~200g carb . 180g protein and 60g fat. How am i gonna increase my carb intake by so much???


Also for my workout routine, I've been trying to choose the suitable exercise to do during that workout. I understand that certain exercises don't need to be done if i'm doing a certain exercise. (for e.g. how do i knw if i should do bicep curls on one day?) or how to know if i should do a pull-down one day?). And i'll be taking a trip to the gym next week to test out some of the weights and get my plan into gear before i start the following week =D

Roast beef from a deli ... is this ok?  Or perhaps it's better to cook a lean cut of beef and slice it myself?
Thats what I prefer to do.
 
Instead of bread ... one cup of brown rice?
Celery instead of carrots
Thats nice.
 
A teaspoon at the begining or end of each meal ... or does it not matter?  I guess this is for a "good fat".  I hope it tastes better then it sounds.
Well, 2 teaspoons to 4 teaspoons a day is the ideal daily amount.  You can split it up or do it in the AM ..as you wish.
 
As for portion sizes..this is dicated by your caloric target!
 
Use Fitday.com to play with the portion sizes to get all the meals about the same.

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One more question ... is there particular oatmeal I should purchase for my breakfast?

If you have oatmeal, try hot rice cereal, try amaranth as a hot cereal...experiment!
Don't make eating a chore!

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If i Based my intake on 45% carb , 30% protein , 25% fat. Thats ~340g carb , 225g protein and 84g fat. So far i've been eating ~200g carb . 180g protein and 60g fat. How am i gonna increase my carb intake by so much???

 
Ideally you want to shift that to:

Protien 20-25%
Carbs 45-50%
Fat 20-30%
 
While optimal rages are in this range...
Protein-15-25%,
carbohydrates-45-75%,
fat-10-30%
...of your total calories
 
Now, you do it by making a meal plan that insures you get lean protein, starch and veggies every meal!  Whole foods!!....I give lots of examples on my losing fat post.
 
Excessively high protein intake is not necessarily going to benefit you!
However, unless you take a week off training, there will be an adjustment.

i get close to 3000 calories. So basically i shouldn't minus 500 off these calories per day? just eat 3000 worth and then use the workouts as the deficiets? 3000 is alot

 
If you are currently eating 2000 then you have to adjust from THAT NUMBER not START OVER with a formula!!!
 
Are you gaining losing or at maintenance with 2000?
 
Anyway how about 2400 for a new start?
 
Protien 25% 150 grams
Carbs 45% 270 grams
Fat 30% 67 grams
 
 
Out of curiosity:
http://www.discussbodybuilding.com/How_Many_Calories_Do_You_Need%3a_Calorie_Calculators_-_Includes_Quick_Spreadsheet_Too!/m_45013/tm.htm
 
open the spreadsheet at the bottom of the page and put your info in there...how much protein (lower right) and what calorie range does it give?

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Thanks again Dan ... I should a a full meal plan tomorrow, AWESOME!  I'll post it here for the final approval 

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